Speaker of Parliament Dr Jiko Luveni urged Northern Division 25 teachers to transfer parliamentary processes and procedures to their students.

“It is crucially important that all Fijians in particular students understand the roles and functions of Parliament, the work the Parliament is carrying and most importantly how they can have a say and engage more effectively with Parliament,” Dr Luveni said.

Dr Luveni was speaking as the chief guest during the closing of a two-day Parliament Education workshop for teachers at the Friendly North Inn in Labasa on Wednesday.

“I cannot emphasise enough the importance of parliamentary education in schools,” Dr Luveni said.

“Every citizen has a democratic right to be represented in Parliament and they should know how to be involved in the Parliament process from listening to campaign speeches and voting.”

Dr Luveni said it was important that students accessed the knowledge that the teachers had learned during the workshop and their individual experiences and knowledge.

She said Parliament was the pre-eminent institution of democracy which endeavoured to be the representative and reflect as far as possible the social and political diversity of Fiji.